User blog:Silent Andromeda/Hellfire: Chapter 18
Previous: Chapter 18 A Voice of the Past Sardec's head was in raging pain as he slowly came to. His blurry vision cleared and found himself unarmored, tied to a chair, and saw a man pointing a gun at him. "What are you?" "What's going on here?" "Answer me! What are you?" "What do you mean? I'm human!" "You don't look all too human with those metal parts on your face. You sure aren't one of Murak's people, but I don't consider trespassing to be very friendly either. Are you one of their crazy experiments? Have they finally made human drones without their manual control!?" "No, no! My name is Sardec! I'm from the UNCC!" "'Sardec'? 'UNCC'? What the Hell are you talking about? Besides, Sardec doesn't sound like a human name." "I was never given a human name. You can call me Julian if you want." "That sounds better. Wait, no! You're just another one of their tricks!" "Listen to me! I! Am! Human! I despise the Kartinava! Where have you been these past 20 years!?" "'20... years'? Has it... really been that long? After a while... all the days sort of mesh together." "Wait.. what are you saying?" The man lowered his weapon and let out a deep sigh. "Ever since the Commander died, Murak sent a search party. When they found us unarmed, they were about to execute us. Some of us escaped, some died. Over time as we tried harder and harder, more of my buddies just dropped like Energy Flies. Before I knew it, I was the only one left, fending for myself. I wanted to finish what was started. I still do, but... with Murak's growing numbers and my advancing age, I feel I'm just going to rot here." Sardec waited a brief moment for the man to process his feelings before speaking again. "Sir, if I may ask. Who are you? What is your name?" "My name? What was my name? It was... I think I engraved my name here on the wall somewhere. Let me check around." Sardec felt pity for the man. His internal HUD had identified the man before he even asked for it. "Oh, here it is! This is my name, right? Yes, yes. It has to be. Julian, my name is Mark Aaron." "It's nice to meet you, Mark. Did you give yourself that name too?" "I don't remember many things, but I do know that my name was given to me by my parents." "You knew your parents?" "Of course. Didn't you?" "Mark, I know we've just met, but it seems we have a lot of catching up to do. But first, untie me please?" Life of Isolation Both men sat across each other from a table, astounded by each others' stories. "'Human farm?'" Said Mark. "'A personal home?'" Said Sardec. "'Constant surveillance?'" "'Peace and quiet?'" "'UBP116?' 'Hellus'?" "I'm afraid so." "That would explain all the strange resources the Kartinava have been bringing in. This 'VOID' material you mentioned. So it works similar to Mithril doesn't it?" "On its own, that is." "The things I have seen them making is crazy. Mithril combined with this VOID stuff. It's been making their equipment far stronger than before." "When was the last time you scouted out their facility?" "It's been a good while. The Sun and Moon have gone through a good amount of cycles. I've been so busy feeding my Panthers. In fact, it's about time I took them for a walk. They've been scouting for food by themselves for a while. I should check up how things are. Your equipment is by the front door. Conflict doesn't come up often, but it's always good to come prepared. Suit up now." Mark walked towards the back of his house and was heard rummaging through various items. Sardec turned towards the front door and walked towards his equipment. As he donned the Krypton helmet as his final item, Mark came back outfitted in an armor with a desert camouflage print that Sardec's HUD identified as "Andromedae". A Walk in the Park Sardec stepped outside of the house after Mark, now seeing the Sun over the western orange sky. Mark imitated crackling sounds and soon after 3 Panthers sprinted towards him and playfully tackled him on the ground. "I missed you too, boys. Get off me now." The Panthers obeyed and stepped away. Mark held a snack over their heads. "Sit." The Panthers sat down and Mark gave them their treats. "Good boys." "Never would I expect to see these creatures domesticated under human authority..." "I remember a time when I didn't get along with the creatures of Earth. But I forgave them and they forgave me. We were both scared pawns on opposite sides of the battlefield. My time alone here has given us a chance to reconcile our differences. Only now do I no longer feel alone on this planet. Speaking of which, where is Molly?" "'Molly'...?" Mark whistled loudly and heavy footsteps were heard. Before Sardec's very eyes, a Rhino had run up to Mark and lowered its head in submission. Mark pet the creature and scratched the back of its ears. "That's a good girl. Come say hi to Molly, Julian!" Sardec was skeptical and cautiously stepped slowly towards the large beast. The Rhino had snarled towards Sardec, causing him to jump behind Mark. "Molly, no! He's friendly. Just trust me!" Mark turned towards Sardec. "Molly can smell your fear. Calm down and she will too. Now try again." Sardec took a deep breath and slowly reached his hand out towards the beast's nose. He placed his hand on the nose and lightly rubbed in circles. The Rhino had let out a mellow sound. "See? You two are already friends. Hop on!" Molly walked through the street with the three Panthers following. Sardec observed the behavior of the nearby animals. "I never would have expected such hostile faces to act passively." "The hardest part is proving that you're not a threat. After that it's smooth sailing. They're not always friendly like my pets here. Most of the time, the Speedlings, Acid Bombers, and other more insectoid creatures act like you don't even exist. Regardless, their lives matter just as much as the Panthers and Rhinos, so I always make sure to free them as well when the Kartinava capture them for their unholy experiments." "I haven't seen much of these creatures back at UBW-594244. Is that from your doing?" "Could be. Or maybe they've learned how to be more elusive. Perhaps each time I free them is another chance for them to improve." Conflict of Interest The Sun began to set over the horizon. Mark had decided to turn around and head back to his home. The outer area of the city had become unusually quiet. No fauna of any kind were to be seen. Mark had directed Molly to slow down. "Something is not right." Said Mark. "Where is everything? Are they hiding?" Asked Sardec. "I have no doubts about that." "It's not me, is it?" "No... we're not alone." Mark dismounted Molly and Sardec soon followed. Mark tied leashes to the Panthers and directed them to take the lead. "This is bad. We're close to my house and they're nearby. I've never had to deal with them so close to home." "Mark... this is my fault. They're looking for me. I made a mess when I first arrived. Even Murak saw me." "It's not just that. They've known of my existence ever since I first escaped. They've searched for my home for a long time." The Panthers began to growl in a certain direction. With one hand free, Mark reached into his backpack and grabbed a laser rifle that was identified as LIT07. Mark scouted the perimeter carefully and saw a strange light refraction anomaly up ahead. He fired a single shot at the light and a flickering image of Chaos armor was seen fleeing. Mark unleashed the Panthers and they ran after the intruder. The Panthers pounced the enemy and its cloak was disabled. Several other Chaos soldiers revealed themselves from cloak and opened fire at the Panthers. "Get away from them!" Mark yelled as he fired at the other Chaos soldiers. Sardec then joined him and fired the HBS-VI Phantom at the assailants. The Chaos soldiers sought cover and concealed themselves. The Panthers had killed their target and charged at the others. The Chaos soldiers stepped back, attempting to fend off the Panthers. "Julian! Don't use your Energy Bow! The blast radius will harm my Panthers. Do you have any other weapons on you?" "I've got this." He said as the Phantom morphed into a sword. "Alright, that'll do. Get in close and assist my Panthers! I'll stay back and shoot at any vulnerable areas!" Sardec drew closer to the Chaos soldiers and waited for the right moment to strike. The Panthers wrestled with the aliens and one of the enemies' chest was in the open. Sardec brought down his sword and stabbed right through the chest of one of the enemies, paralyzing it. He then swept for the head, ending its life. Sardec raised his own head and saw another soldier's head get shot off by Mark. The Panthers mauled a third one to death and the last enemy began to flee. The Panthers ran in pursuit, with a sizable distance between them and their target. Sardec changed his Phantom back into a bow and pulled the bow string back. He fired dual energy bolts and struck the back of the target, causing it to fall to the ground. allowing the Panthers to catch up and maul it to death. Replanning Sardec returned to Mark with the three Panthers. "That's all of them." Sardec reported. "Good. But they'll be back. It's too dangerous to stay at my house. Hop onto Molly and we'll set off." "Where will we go?" "As long as I can remember, I have been looking for just the right kind of sabotage to use against the parasites. In all my years here, I have never been able to explore every nook and cranny their military facility. There must be some sort of system we can strike that will send all of them running. Something that can destroy their operations here for good. At least enough to slow them down for a long time. With your help, I may be able to do such a thing. What do you say?" "I may not have known these creatures as long as you, but I do know that I want nothing more than for every single last one of them to be exterminated. I'll do whatever it takes." "Good. Now that the Sun is set, we better find a place to rest. The Kartinava are much more efficient at night. And judging from what you told me about planet Hellus, the darkness is their forte. I know of a few places we could rest at." Mark and Sardec set off for a temporary shelter to rest before preparing to strike back at Hell's Army. Next: Chapter 19 Category:Blog posts